Teens develop support App for stressed-out youths

AN APP providing support for teenagers who may feel depressed or suicidal has been released with the objective of getting the message out to the thousands of young people who will receive their Leaving Certificate results tomorrow.

The “Be Positive Be You” App was created by a group of teens who said the stress associated with exams was worse than any relationship break-up.

“A break-up is a piece of cake compared to stress around exams. But bad results are not the end of the road,” said Paul Finn (18).

“We wanted an App that was moving with the times and was innovative and creative rather than just a piece of paper with facts and figures on it,” explained Gerard Maguire (17) who is going into sixth year this September.

Along with other teens they are members of a subcommittee of Louth Comhairle na nÓg who worked on developing the App.

“If you don’t know somebody who has committed suicide, you have heard of somebody who has and it affects everybody.

“One of the most important aspects of this App is that if you have a friend who is going through hard times, there is a step-by-step guide on how to approach them and help them,” said Megan Rogers (16).

Kevin Moran, support officer to Comhairle na nÓg in Louth, said, “The App is something the young people will always have with them because a lot of the services for them are not open if they need them at, say, 2am.”

Patrick Dunne (16) agreed: “If you have had a bad experience at a party and are at home and it’s 3am and there is no telephone service around, you will still have your smartphone with you and can look at this App.”

Cathal Manning (17) said, “Having it on an App means the information is readily available, it is easy to use and there is nothing intimidating about it and everybody has smartphones.”

The App is believed to be the first of its kind and, significantly, it does not tell people what to do but provides them with support and information.

It will be available shortly for Android users and can be accessed via the Facebook page of Louth Comhairle na nÓg and through Twitter @louthyouth.